New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-01-09
". H. BISHOP on TIE NOTEL

COMPARING THE OLD STYLE WITH THE NEW-DlA-
LTCT AND CHARACTER.
William Henry Bishop the novelist. gave n lecture
yesterday morning at Columbia College on "Character
and Dialect In Fiction his talk being the first OF series
Of free saturday morning be given during January
and February. Mr. Bishop is young man of thirty
i've years. perhaps, with rather iron-gray hair
aud cry-h mustache He read what he had to say from
manuscript. holdnga bulky roll fitn his two hands
delivering himself In straight forward busnesske way
with no attempt at finish Of manner The ceyerness OF
the matter however kept the large audience all atten
ton for seventy minutes Mr. Bishops warm
praise OF Howells drew forth some applause
and hi, many witty terms and happy phrases carried of
delightfully."- the more argumcntatiVe passages OF the
lecture President +. A. +. Barnard introduced the
lecturer -Four nfhs Of the audience were women most
Of them wearing orthodox high bonnetS.
Mr. Bishop began by asking what Is the best material
,or fiction There are some books and some characters
which All agree IN calling interesting What Is an III
eresng character and why is character more interest
Ing than another The old that book or char
noter the sitting II departed moro widely
from the hum-drum. the commonplace. Tho man who
has travelled and had all sorts OF adv the strange
enthusiast who like Thoreau breaks away from society
10 live In the solitudes the woman. who like Hester
stanhopc the English hercs- fees 10 Syria 10 wander In
the deserts there and mares at last native chicf-the
stories peoples lives the really interesting ones
This element Of strangcncss OF something different from
the common, the cioi one In the primitive novel
The novel Of character. with It's typical personages
whose motives and actions under familiar circumstances
make the whole story belongs more advanced stage
Strangely enough. American novellsts with one excc
ton have made the first element the more important IN
their work They have been occupied chiefly Ia
diminishing about IN odd OF the land
for bits OF foreign life with high local color.
writing books about Californians, Cre0les,
Acadians, Mexcans mountainous In Georgia or Ten
nessce miners Colorado. shakers, Moravans. Euro
pcanlcd Americans any people except those among
whom they live and about whom they ought to know
most.
Tho typical familiar novel is the Ougrowth OF natural
ism or realism IN fiction II Is social history. sort OF
And at the time dealing with normal. every.
day matters becomes the novel OF character not OF
plot adventure Flaubcrt aud Tourgene are its fore
most pOncnts abroad But the only American novelist
this difficult field familiar hOmcly life rs We nnd
II about 49, il W. h. IIowcs Mr. Bishop then anay zed
The Rise OF slas Iapha," taking that representa-
tive American novel The problems In II. no said were
real the strength and pathOs was genuine, the huOr
nnc and delicate the style flexible and graceful
The use OF dialect, MIR Bishop thought, was marx
OF the greater ease, democracy ana good
humor Of fiction In modern times There
was no dialect In the eighteenth century In 80
still earlier In factor In The Vicar Of Wakefield
Dialect In with tho French Revolution Thack,
cray used It oharmingiy In The lelowplush Papers
and "Jeemss Diary" Dickens and George Eliot have
made IL remarkably affective IN III
I stories.